Six people were indicted on Wednesday as part of an international ring of cyber-criminals that hijacked over 1,000 StubHub accounts and defrauded the ticketing service of approximately $1.6 million, the Manhattan district attorney said.
The six suspects are accused of being part of a cybercrime ring that hijacked StubHub accounts and purchased tickets with stolen credit card numbers to high-profile events such as Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z concerts as well as Boston Red Sox and New York Giants games, according to court documents. Charges include money laundering, possession of stolen property, and identity theft.
“Today’s arrests and indictment connect a global network of hackers, identity thieves and money-launderers who victimized countless individuals,” said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., at a news conference Wednesday.
The indictments are part of an internationally coordinated effort where police also arrested a Russian national who was detained while vacationing in Spain, three suspects in London, and one individual in Canada, Vance said.
“The global law enforcement community has sent a strong message to the individuals that commit these crimes – You are no longer safe to travel and operate outside of your home country, without significant risk of arrest and prosecution,” said Robert Capps, an executive with RedSeal Networks and the former head of global trust and safety at StubHub.
Investigators traced various transactions from 1,600 compromised StubHub accounts using IP addresses, PayPal information, and bank account details. The criminals gained access to user accounts by trying out username-password combinations harvested from other data breaches, or were collected by keyloggers and other types of malware. StubHub, a unit of eBay, said its technical infrastructure or financial systems were not breached.
StubHub noticed the suspicious transactions last year and worked with law enforcement around the world. StubHub reimbursed the affected customers.
“A tremendous amount of hard work and dedication from all parties is required to successfully dismantle an International criminal enterprise,” Capps said. “Collaboration at this scale is required to turn the tables on cyber criminals,” he said.
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